


You Might Be My Dream Come True

by berryfuls



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/M, Healing, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-01
Updated: 2016-11-01
Packaged: 2018-08-28 09:20:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8440090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/berryfuls/pseuds/berryfuls
Summary: Jaune struggles to let Pyrrha go in the months following the Fall of Beacon.





	

A few training videos. A handful of photographs. The metal from her sword.

That’s all he has left of her.

Except there’s more. He still has the memories of her flipping through the air during a fight, gracefully landing on her feet. Of how her eyes had fell on the dress he had worn to the dance, her eyes lighting up and her hand covering her laughing. Of starting to fall for her before he really knew what that meant. Of light touches on his shoulder, his back, the jolt he felt in his stomach at these connections.

Of her lips pressed against his, passing every unspoken “ _I love you_ ” and “ _I want us to be more than just partners, teammates, best friends_ ” from her lips to his. Of how perfect she had felt in his arms.

Of how it felt for her to use her semblance to push him back into the locker, of flying through the air, away from her, of knowing he had _failed_ at the most important test life had thrown him. Of how the tiny rocks on the street had stung his hands as he had fallen to the pavement. Of the deafness that roared in his head upon the confirmation that she was truly gone. Of how cold and hard the remaining metal of her armor had felt in his hands the day he touched it.

Memories aren’t enough to bring someone back from the dead. Some were fading, and at night, when he practiced his fighting to the tune of her training videos, he imagined he was fighting to bring them back, to make them as sharp as the days he had experienced them. He imagined he was fighting that woman in the tower. Sometimes, he imagined he was fighting himself for failing at stopping her from going.

And maybe it had to have happened. Maybe she had to die to trigger whatever happened with Ruby that had stopped that woman and froze the Grimm. Maybe the entirety of Beacon and Vale and Remnant would have been slaughtered had it not been for her sacrifice. But that doesn’t help him sleep at night. It doesn’t help him escape the nightmares that find him every evening, that fill his head with dreams of her eyes, her hair, her scent, her, her, _her_ , until he jerks awake and feels that familiar stung of loss all over again.

So no, he doesn’t sleep. He listens to the recordings, he practices with the new shield and sword, and he doesn’t sleep.

He can picture her face better the longer he stays awake. He pictures her knowing expression, can hear the concern in her voice as she reminds him that he needs to rest, that this isn’t right, this isn’t healthy, Jaune, _please_. He hasn’t figured out yet which is more painful: the hallucinations or the reality.

There’s one night of this continued fit of unwillingness to deal when he hears soft footfalls behind him. He fumbles with his scroll, willing for her voice to silence, willing away all sound and light that might be attracting any enemy.

“Jaune.”

He freezes at the voice. There’s no way. This can’t be real. He turns slowly, careful not to break whatever illusion had been placed on him.

But it’s true. She’s there, in the forest clearing, her green eyes sparkling in the moonlight. She’s wearing her armor, and the gentle glow of the night reflects perfectly off the metal in her hair. She looks as stunning as the day he met her.

“Pyrrha, how-”

She shushes him softly, and takes her time approaching him. She seems to float across the earth, as graceful as ever. His senses are overloaded with so much input of _her_ , he’s not sure he can continue to stand upright. He still has his scroll, held tightly against his chest, and he dares not move a muscle. Anything could ruin this. He will not allow this to be shattered.

“Jaune, do you believe in destiny?” she asks, her voice soft as silk in his ear. She’s nearly in front of him now, nearly close enough to touch.

“I-I don’t know,” he breathes, barely audible to himself. She hears, and a smile spreads across her face.

“I do. I believe in destiny.” She slowly reaches down and, as if uncertain, gently grasps his hand. This is real, he can feel her warmth in his palm, her soft skin on his fingertips. “I believe that you were my destiny, Jaune.”

He struggles to take a breath. She’s watching him, that same proud, adoring twinkle in her eyes. The words are tumbling out of his mouth before he can stop them. “Pyrrha, I love y-”

“Why did you let me die, Jaune?”

Her words cut him off and dig into him, sharper than any knife. Here she is, confirming every worst nightmare he’s had in the past several months. She’s confirming that she does blame him, that this is his fault, that if he had just tried harder, she would still be alive and with him. “I tried-”

“You let me die. You let me go. You kissed me and you let me go. How could you do that?”

The clearing around him is growing darker with every word coming out of her mouth, and as the light fades, it seems all the oxygen in the air is leaving with it. He can’t breathe, can’t find the air that will satisfy the burn in his lungs.

 _Is this how she felt as she died?_ he wonders. _Did she gasp for air, too? Did she feel the life drain from her body, too?_

“Pyrrha, please-” he manages to gasp out. He watches as a tear slips from the corner of her eye and trails across her cheek.

The world goes dark as he hears, “I loved you, Jaune.”

He jerks awake, a scream forcing its way out of his mouth, and before he’s fully awake, he’s sitting up. He can see Ruby, Nora, and Ren jolt awake and begin to search for signs of danger. He’s sweating, this sleeping bag is too constraining, he needs space-

There’s a hand on his back. For a brief moment, he freezes in panic, as if the nightmare isn’t over yet. Ruby pops into his field of view, and he has to force himself to relax.

“It wasn’t real, Jaune,” she mumbles softly to him. He turns to her, confused on how she could possibly know what had just happened to him inside his own head. She offers a shy smile. “I get them too, the nightmares. You just gotta… remember that she’s gone. Nothing can change that. But that isn’t your fault.”

Before he realizes it, he’s crying. Harsh sobs wrack his body, and he curls himself into a ball. “I miss her so much,” he finally manages.

“I miss her, too,” Nora says, taking a seat on his other side. “She always knew the right kind of syrup to get me when I was down.”

“One time, after I hadn’t done well in a sparring match, she found me and told me that there was no such thing as failure,” Ren adds, sitting down next to Nora. “She said that I would learn from my mistakes and next time, do better. And I did. She believed in me, but she believed in you even more, Jaune.”

“I just…” Jaune says, trailing off. “I don’t know if I can do this without her.”

“You can,” Ruby chirps. “You were her partner. You knew her better than anybody. What would she say to you right now?”

He swallows roughly, knowing the answer. “She’d… she’d tell me that I’ve made so much progress since we met. That I’ve grown as a fighter, a hunter, and a human being. But all of that is because of her-”

Ruby is shaking her head, stopping him. “No, all of that is because of you. She helped you find that inside of you. And she’s always going to be with you. So you can always look to her to continue to grow,” she says. For a moment, Jaune remembers how young Ruby really is, and how wise the past couple years have made her. She’s still a child, but she has life experience and wisdom that most adults lack.

“She’ll always be with you, Jaune,” Ren says, taking his time with the words. “But you have to learn to let her go. Remember her and the good times you had with her, but don’t wish for her to magically come back to us. If you do, she will only disappoint you.”

Jaune nods, taking the advice to heart. He knows he still has a long road of recovering ahead of him, but he allows himself to take the first step.

That night, he sleeps. The nightmares do not come, and he wakes up refreshed for the first time in a very long time.

He still trains to her videos. He still cherishes and relishes in the sweet sound of her voice. He still daydreams about her kiss, the way she felt so close to him. But bit by bit, a step each day, he learns to let her go. He allows this new team to fill his life and learns to stop wishing for it to be complete. This team is complete. It’s new and different from Team JNPR, but it is still full and complete.

Sometimes he has the nightmares. Sometimes he lets them tear him down and consume him. Some days, it feels like he doesn’t make any progress towards letting her go. Some days, he feels like he’s backtracking. But he lets himself open up to his teammates, and he lets them calm him and help him. He lets them do their part as teammates.

Yes, he still loves Pyrrha Nikos. That love may fade or alter with time, but he will always love the girl who helped him become a hunter, who bettered him as a human, and who had loved him, unconditionally, with all of her heart.

A few training videos. A handful of photographs. The metal from her sword. Her memory. And the lessons he learned from her.

That’s what he has left.


End file.
